Preliminary Census Bureau data released Tuesday show that the United States imported a total of 925,328 mt (1,020,000 nt) of steel in May 2009, including 908,999 mt (1,002,000 nt) of finished steel, down 17 percent and 11 percent, respectively, compared to April final data.
US' finished steel imports were down by 51.1 percent in May from the 1,857,007 mt (2,047,000 nt) imported a year ago while the US' year-to-date finished steel imports through May totaled 6,559,853 mt (7,231,000 nt), which is 31.3 percent less than was imported in the same period of last year.
Product categories which showed biggest changes in import totals from April to May were cold rolled sheets (down 43 percent in May from April) and rails-standard (up 68.6 percent). YTD, the biggest drop in import tonnage was for rebar (down 56 percent YTD May 2009 vs. YTD May 2008), and the only steel product for which import tonnage increased on a YTD basis was OCTG (up 30 percent from last year).